"It could be rude, sarcastic.
Whatever it takes!"
A Santa With a Clause
The Santa Clause is a 1994 Disney Christmas movie and the second one of our marathon. It spawned two sequels and currently is a, relatively, well-remember movie. Directed by John Pasquin (Jungle 2 Jungle) and written by Leo Benvenuti (Space Jam) and Steve Rudnick (Kicking & Screaming), the film follows Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), as he accidentally kills Santa Claus and is forced to take his place thanks to the titular clause. While his young son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) is ecstatic, his ex-wife (Wendy Crewson) and her new husband Neil (Judge Reinhold) disapprove and Clavin soon finds he must try to save his relationship with his son and family and also become the best Santa ever. Sounds easy enough.
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| He really looks good as Santa. |
Here He Comes
I don't actually know how most people feel about The Santa Clause, it seems to be pretty split, but I felt a little nervous that one of the films in this Disney set that was on the better side had Tim Allen in a fat suit. But hey, I am a kind superhuman, so I decided to give the film a shot, seeing it for the first time. And it made me realize something. I go way easier on Christmas films then I do any other. This movie has farting reindeer, fat suit Tim Allen and a group seriously saying that they are "elves with attitude". And I'll admit. I got a really big kick out of this movie. Silliness is just par for the course during the Christmas season and The Santa Clause embraces Christmas with the same vice-like grip of a great aunt's hug. The film makes great use of the Christmas setting, with an awesome North Pole and some honestly great explanations as to how Santa works. The film just made me smile more often than it made me groan. Allen is fun and he actually plays a really great Santa Claus, even if the transformation is a little lackluster.
Guess Who
The actual transformation of Calvin to Santa is a bit rushed. Sure, we see his problems shaving and gaining weight. But then, when his son says he believes him, he's just "Hey, I guess I am Santa!". And that's really it. I mean, the film is more interesting than most Christmas childrens films thanks to it focusing on the relationship with Calvin and his son and family. It adds an honest emotional aspect to the film. But still, they could've shown more of him become good ol' Saint Nick. He doesn't spend much time on the North Pole nor does he do anything with the naughty or nice list, like I thought a funny joke would come from. Plus, they kinda underplay that he did cause the death of the old Santa, but I digress. In the end, the film closes with a great third act. As much as I joked earlier, the "elves with attitude" saving Santa is pretty cool and the ending feels like it's feeding you cookies while giving you presents. It just feels awesomely Christmasy. And really, isn't that what you want from a Christmas movie? Especially one kids and parents could watch together every year?
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| Quit with that smirk. Numb3rs wasn't that good. |
The Verdict
The Santa Clause might not be the funniest, nor the most interesting Christmas film ever, but it does a great job of encapsulating the season. Allen is a great Santa and the story is different enough to make the whole film a lot of fun to watch. Sure, it's a Disney film for kids, so some jokes are awful and there are problems with pacing. But when my many complaint is that I wanted more of the film, that's always a good thing. The Santa Clause gets 5 stars out of 6.
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